Is a Genuinely Sustainable, Locally-Led, Politically-Smart
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Is a genuinely sustainable, locally-led, politically-smart approach to economic governance and Business Environment Reform possible? Lessons from 10 years implementing ENABLE in Nigeria Gareth Davies, November 2017 Lessons from 10 years of ENABLE in Nigeria 1 Contents Introduction 4 A. What does it mean to be sustainable, locally-led, and politically-smart? 6 B. How sustainable, locally-led, and politically-smart are mainstream approaches? 10 C. How was ENABLE different, in approach and in practice? 13 D. What did ENABLE achieve, and what difference did the approach make? 22 E. How do donors help (and hinder) implementation of a genuinely sustainable, locally-led, politically-smart approach? 31 Conclusions 34 References 35 The author would like to thank the entire ENABLE1 and ENABLE2 team, particularly Kevin Conroy (the ENABLE2 Team Leader), and the Senior Component Managers – Adenike Mantey, Abosede Paul-Obameso, Helen Bassey, and Habiba Jambo – without whose hard work and dedication the sucacess of ENABLE1 and 2, and therefore this paper, would not have been possibale. Special thanks also goes to David Elliott and Gavin Anderson, who take a good deal of credit for designing, shaping, and guiding the ENABLE programme over the years. Thanks also to everyone who commented on drafts of this paper, including David Elliott, Kevin Conroy, Kevin Seely, and Dan Hetherington. The views expressed in this paper are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Adam Smith International or the UK Department for International Development. 2 Glossary AO Advocacy Organisation BE Business Environment BER Business Environment Reform BMO Business Member Organisation CSO Civil Society Organisation IFC International Finance Corporation MDA Government Ministry, Department, Agency PPD Public-Private Dialogue VFM Value For Money Referenced ENABLE Partners ABU Admadu Bello University ELAN Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria LCCI Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry MAN Manufacturers Association of Nigeria NASME Nigeria Association of Small & Medium Enterprises NASSBER National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable NESG Nigerian Economic Summit Group QBWA Quintessential Business Women’s Association Lessons from 10 years of ENABLE in Nigeria 3 Introduction This paper examines what it means to be genuinely sustainable, locally-led, and politically-smart, drawing on the successes and failures of the DFID-funded ENABLE programme in Nigeria. ‘Sustainability’, ‘locally-led’, and ‘politically smart’ are concepts in development, like ‘adaptive management’, that many donors and practitioners either reflexively claim to embrace or dismiss as little more than common sense or good development practice. However, as this paper argues, pursuing a genuinely sustainable, locally-led, and politically-smart approach requires a radical departure from most mainstream approaches. It also entails potential trade-offs that are rarely explicitly acknowledged and weighed in programme design. There has also been relatively little effort made to monitor and evaluate whether programmes are indeed delivering sustainable, locally owned change – for example, post-programme evaluations are still relatively novel and there is little practical guidance on how to assess sustainability. ENABLE provides an interesting case to explore these issues. Originally designed as a Challenge Fund for business associations, in recognition of the inherent limitations of such an approach ENABLE was redesigned to put sustainability and local ownership at the heart of the programme. This led to wholesale changes in the way the programme designs and implements interventions and to the size and nature of the project team and their ways of working. As ENABLE entered its second phase in 2014 it dropped one of its focal states, Lagos, to shift focus to the north of Nigeria. This provides an opportunity to put ENABLE’s claims around sustainability to the test by examining the fate of ENABLE1 partners in Lagos three years after the end of direct project support (as well as examining other evidence of sustainability from ENABLE2). ENABLE, with its emphasis on strengthening the process of reform, rather than just the end result, also provides an interesting contrast with more technocratic approaches, which are still the dominate mode of Business Environment Reform programming. ENABLE was designed in part as a response to the perceived failings of donor-led, technocratic reform efforts (including the precursor Investment Climate Programme). At the federal level, for example, excluding the reforms contributed to by ENABLE, no significant piece of BE-related legislation has been passed in Nigeria in nearly 20 years, despite numerous donor initiatives over the years (see Case Study Box 3). Although ENABLE is a business advocacy programme, the approach followed and lessons learned have relevance for any programme working in Business Environment Reform (BER), economic governance, and even governance more broadly. The rest of the paper is structured as follows. Section A examines what it means conceptually to be genuinely sustainable, locally-led, and politically-smart, including a discussion of the potential trade-offs involved. Section B argues that many mainstream approaches to governance and BER are not designed to be sustainable, locally-led, or politically-smart (often despite claims to the contrary). Section C looks at how ENABLE was different, in both design and in practice, and draws out some of the tensions and sometimes radical implications of pursuing a genuinely sustainable, locally-led, and politically-smart approach. Section D presents the results from ENABLE 1 and 2 and critically examines what difference the three core concepts made to the results achieved, and asks whether a more ‘direct’ approach could have delivered better results and impact with the time and resources available. Finally, Section E examines how donors help, and hinder, the application of a genuinely sustainable, locally-led, and politically-smart approach. While ENABLE has largely benefited from a supportive funder, Section E argues that many of the pressures currently facing donors and programmes – such as the need for quick results and high visibility – run counter to genuine sustainability and local ownership. Note that this paper is not intended as an independent evaluation of the ENABLE programme or a comprehensive compendium of results.1 Rather, this paper is a look back at nearly ten years of programming by members of the ENABLE Strategic Advisory Committee responsible for the design and strategic oversight of the programme since its inception. 1 Interested readers can refer to the two independent Project Completion Reviews available on Development Tracker (https:// devtracker.dfid.gov.uk/) 4 Overview of the ENABLE programme ENABLE is a business advocacy programme designed to promote improved Public-Private Dialogue (PPD), ultimately leading to an improved Business Environment (BE) for poor men and women. ENABLE1 (2008 to 2014; £12mn) worked with partners at the Federal level as well as Lagos, Kaduna, and Kano. ENABLE2 (2014 to 2017; £11mn) dropped Lagos and added new focal states in Northern Nigeria (Jigawa, Katsina, and Zamfara). In contrast to donor-led reform efforts, ENABLE deliberately avoided hosting its own dialogue events, or advocating directly for reforms. Instead, ENABLE worked behind-the-scenes to strengthen the process of reform within existing Nigerian institutions; helping actors better advocate, research, and report and consult on BE issues that matter most to them. ENABLE recognised the multiplicity of actors involved in any successful reform effort, partnering with a range of organisations on both the ‘demand’ and ‘supply’ side as well as various supporting actors: ● Advocacy Organisations (AOs), such as business associations and chambers of commerce, to engage in more effective advocacy on behalf of the private sector; ● Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to build their ability and willingness to consult effectively with the private sector and other stakeholders; ● Media houses, both commercial and state-owned, to strengthen their role as a driver and supporter of business environment reform, a channel for information, and a platform for debate and discussion; and ● Research Institutions, both public and private, to improve the supply of policy research and information in order to promote informed, evidence-based dialogue. Where required, ENABLE also engaged actors in ‘interconnected systems’, such as audience research firm AMPS in order to improve the likelihood of sustained practice change in media houses. In contrast to Challenge Funds, ENABLE used a variety of tools and tactics to promote sustainable change in the performance and practices of these actors, including training, mentoring, brokering linkages, seeding ideas, organisational reviews, and cost-sharing. ENABLE1 contributed to 82 new or improved PPDs, leading to 13 cases of BE reforms benefiting 1.8 million micro- enterprises (30% female-owned). ENABLE2 contributed to 65 new or improved PPDs and 17 cases of reform, including the first significant federal-level BE reforms for nearly 20 years. Lessons from 10 years of ENABLE in Nigeria 5 A. What does it mean to be sustainable, locally-led, and politically-smart? This Section explores the core concepts of ‘sustainability’, ‘locally-led’, and ‘politically-smart’ in more detail. What do these terms actually mean conceptually, are they complementary, and what